The Sacred Sun Festival
by thefloatingllama
Summary: Cresswell Visits Kaider in New Beijing, SMUT and festival fun! Kaider tries something new.
1. The Awards Ceremony

TWO MONTHS LATER

"I now bestow upon you, Carswell Thorne, and you, Crescent Moon Darnel, the Sacred Sun Award of Integrity," Emperor Kaito announced to the gathered guests and to our two sexy heroes. "You have done great work in your missions, but this last mission in particular clearly shows your integrity and courage and devotion to the unification of the Earthen Union and Luna."

"Let us raise a toast to the honorees and two of our closest friends." Linh Cinder held up her glass and the guests followed suit.

"To the honorees!"

"Thank you all for joining us for this honorable occasion. We hope to see you all during the festival next week!" Kai beamed at his people from the podium and shook Thorne's hand and then Cress's hand.

Thorne hugged Cress tightly and then immediately turned to high five Cinder. What a dork. Cinder happily high fived him back. What two dorks, I should say. Laughter burst from the guests as the four exited off the platform and into the adjacent hallway.

Cinder let out a sigh of relief as she took off her crown, her necklace, and her skirt. "Thank goodness that's over, I feel 50 kilograms lighter." As she stepped out of her skirt, Thorne noticed she was wearing her favorite cargo pants. I guess old habits do die hard.

"What is 50 kilograms in American?" Thorne asked.

Cinder laughed at Cress's reaction to his question, like Thorne's life suddenly made no sense to her. "Like 110 pounds or something. Cress, can you come with me, I need your opinion on something."

"Sure, Cinder." She pecked Thorne on the cheek and followed Cinder down the halls.


	2. Cress and Cinder

"So how long have you and Thorne been sleeping together?" Cinder asked as soon as she had closed the door to her chambers.

"Whaaaaaaaaat? No, we haven't… umm." Cress tried to act innocent, but knew there was no fooling Cinder. She had a lie detector. "Two months. How did you know?"

Cinder laughed a little. "I am weirdly good at guessing these sorts of things. Plus, you've got the same glow Scarlet had after her wedding."

"Glow, huh?" Cress thought back to her nightie. She had only worn it twice before it was ripped… Probably shouldn't tell Cinder about that, though. Quick, Cress, change the subject.

"So, have you and Kai…? Good job, Cress, almost a different subject.

Cinder would have blushed if she could have. "No, we actually can't even if we wanted to. The Imperial Law says we must wait until we are officially married to have physical relations. A royal baby out of wedlock would be cause for crisis in the Eastern Commonwealth."

A royal baby… Cress hadn't even thought about babies… Was Thorne thinking about babies? Was he thinking she was thinking about babies? That is too much thinking, Cress! Stop thinking!

Cress stood up quickly, making herself a little dizzy. "I think I need some water." She walked out of the room rather stiffly, in search of Thorne. And maybe some water, too.


	3. Kai and Thorne

Thorne knew immediately that Kai was about to start another one of his heart-to-hearts. About what, exactly, he wasn't sure. But he could tell by Kai's smirk that it was coming.

"Walk with me, Carswell." Kai took him by the shoulders and pushed him in the opposite direction of Cress and Cinder. "Do you like spicy food?"

"Umm, no? Not rea-"

"Great, me too." Before Thorne could voice his confusion, Kai had steered them to the kitchen.

He addressed the chef, "Your spiciest curry please! Two bowls."

Thorne felt mildly frightened as they sat down at the small chef's table. One of the waiters brought two bowls of steaming red curry and rice. He also brought Thorne an extra-large glass of water.

Thorne had taken about half a sip of water when Kai asked, "So how long have you and Cress been sleeping together?" …And the water was now on Kai's face.

"Way to spring that on me, Kai! What if I had had curry in my mouth?"

"Then I would be fine, because that is the least spicy curry known to man." Kai belly laughed at Thorne's confused expression. "C'mon, you have to admit that was funny!"

Thorne breathed out a small chuckle but didn't really feel like eating anymore.

Kai asked again after a few minutes, if Thorne and Cress were sleeping together.

"You, too?" Cress announced from the kitchen doorway. "What is your obsession with our love life?"

Thorne looked at Cress like she had just saved his life. Cress looked at Thorne like she barely recognized him. And then she lunged at him. No, not at him, at the extra-large glass of water he was holding. She practically chugged the entire glass while Thorne and Kai stared at her in shock.

After she took a second to regain her composure, Cress said, "Kai, could you please excuse Thorne and I. Go talk to your fiancée, about anything other than us. Please."

Kai got up and walked out of the room in silence. Cress took his seat across from Thorne, considering exactly what she wanted to say. But before she could, Thorne broke the silence.

"Cress, are you okay?"

Another flashback to their first night together, something she had planned two months ago but it felt like years had gone by since that night.

"I'm fine, just a little in shock. Cinder called me out on it, too, us sleeping together. I just thought maybe it could be our little secret." She looked like she might cry, her eyes squeezed shut.

Thorne reached across the table and took her hands in his own. "Cress, I feel the same way. It's not really their business."

"But it's not just that. Cinder knew, and I can't lie to her. And then she brought up… babies." Cress whispered that last part so quietly that Thorne could barely hear her. But he did. And it shook him to his core.

"Cress, I am not ready to have babies. Are you ready to have babies?" Thorne let go of her hands and tilted her chin so she could look at him.

She sniffled, shook her head, and smiled. Hearing him say he wasn't ready made her feel 110 pounds lighter.


	4. A Big Decision

Cinder and Kai were waiting outside the kitchen to apologize. They were being nosy, partly because they wanted to make sure their friends were happy, but also because they were living vicariously through them.

Cress and Thorne graciously understood, but the conversations of that day led to some serious discussions later.

"Are you sure? This is going to be a big responsibility. Do you think we can handle it?"

"Yes, I'm sure! I'm ready. I am so ready. I know it's soon, but I think it is the right choice."

"Then it's agreed. We get married on the final day of the festival next week." Kai and Cinder sat in Cinder's reading room discussing their future together. They had moved the wedding up by four months, but they just couldn't wait any longer.

Torin stood behind Kai's chair, checking the schedule of the festival. "There is an opening Friday afternoon that would allow everyone who wanted to be there to join you and not miss any festivities.

Cinder leaned in to kiss Kai. "That sounds wonderful."

"Perfect," Kai whispered back. Whether he was talking about the wedding date or his soon-to-be bride, I'll let you decide.


	5. Festival Fun

MONDAY

During the Sacred Sun Festival, Thorne and Cress explored the city of New Beijing together. In fact, they had only had sex on their ship before they arrived, so they were very pleased with the number of options they had.

If you are wondering what the strangest place was, then I would tell you one word: Dragon. But that's a story for another time. This particular smutty story takes place in a very familiar location. The very same market where we met Linh Cinder and Emperor Kaito for the first time.

But this story is not nearly as innocent…

"Psst, Thorne!" Cress whispered into Thorne's ear as they walked away from the speakeasy booth. She giggled as Thorne picked her up for a piggyback ride.

"Yes, Cress? Hehe – that rhymes."

Cress leaned down and kissed Thorne's temple. She was aiming for his mouth, but a piggyback ride doesn't offer much in terms of flexibility.

"I want to have sex right here right now."

Thorne stopped dead in his tracks, causing the crowd around them to split. "Right here?" He pointed to the ground.

"No, silly! Somewhere nearby though, because I want to do sexy things to you."

Thorne practically took off running, trying to find somewhere private for them.

"There!" Cress pointed towards an abandoned booth, nearly falling off Thorne as she let go.

Thorne set her down and they tried to act inconspicuous as they walked toward the booth. There were shelves around it, holding old useless mechanical parts. Thorne wondered if Cinder knew this was here. She would love to tinker with it all. But enough thinking about Cinder, Thorne! Your girlfriend is stripping down as we speak!

Thorne rounded the corner to the back of the booth, and saw Cress unbuttoning her dress. Hey another rhyme! He was hard in an instant and unbuttoned his shirt and pants.

He picked her up off the ground and leaned them into the wall of the booth. "Ready?" He asked her, but she was already nodding.

He positioned himself and drove into her. He pulled out just as quickly and she pleaded for more, sighing with anticipation.

Her sighs drove him crazy and he started pounding her hard and fast. In two months, they had learned quickly. She liked it rough sometimes, and he was happy to oblige.

Thorne was nearly grunting as Cress broke her moaning with two little words he loved to hear.

"Touch. Me." She said it with such need that he immediately dropped one hand to her clit and started massaging her.

In minutes, they were both coming together, her climax causing his. They finished their secret with a long, slow kiss. They buttoned their clothes and walked hand in hand back into the market. No one would ever know except their crazy smiles and the leaves in Cress's hair.


	6. The Guests Arrive

TUESDAY

"I DO!" Iko jumped up and down. "I would love to be your Maid of Honor!"

"CO-Maid of Honor; you share the title with Winter," Cinder laughed. Iko continued to jump for joy, as she nodded in agreement.

"I cannot wait to plan – CO-plan your bachelorette party! The festival will be the perfect back drop for the REAL event of the season!" Iko was practically screaming. A royal wedding that she got to help plan, AND she was the Maid of Honor. This was a dream come true! "Who are the Best Men? Who do I get to walk down the aisle with?"

"Thorne and Wolf are the best men, you will walk with Thorne, Winter will walk with Wolf. I wish everyone could be in the wedding, but tradition only allows for a Best Man and a Maid of Honor; we are already pushing the rules by having two of each." Cinder had heard the same speech over and over from Torin on how important tradition was to the Eastern Commonwealth. Screw tradition, she thought, her friends were important to her.

A member of the royal staff stepped into the room. "Your majesty, some of your guests have arrived."

Before Cinder could start to say thank you, Iko squealed and ran to the door. Scarlet and Wolf walked in, quickly stopped by a bear hug from Iko. Scarlet walked over to Cinder and hugged her.

"So I hear it's time for a royal wedding."


End file.
